https://www.selleckchem.com/products/thiamet-g.html Chronic viral infections disrupt the ability of the humoral immune response to produce neutralising antibody or form effective immune memory, preventing viral clearance and making vaccine design difficult. Multiple components of the B cell response are affected by pathogens that are not cleared from the host. Changes in the microenvironment shift production of B cells to short-lived plasma cells early in the response. Polyclonal B cells are recruited into both the plasma cell and germinal centre compartments, inhibiting the formation of a targeted, high-affinity response. Finally, memory B cells shift towards an 'atypical' phenotype, which may in turn result in changes to the functional properties of this population. While similar properties of B cell dysregulation have been described across different types of persistent infections, key questions about the underlying mechanisms remain. This review will discuss the recent advances in this field, as well as highlight the critical questions about the interplay between viral load, microenvironment, the polyclonal response and atypical memory B cells that are yet to be answered. Design of new preventative treatments will rely on identifying the extrinsic and intrinsic modulators that push B cells towards an ineffective response, and thus identify new ways to guide them back onto the best path for clearance of virus and formation of effective immune memory. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND Studies suggest that a diet rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids may have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects for chronic conditions such as cystic fibrosis. This is an updated version of a previously published review. OBJECTIVES To determine whether there is evidence that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation reduces morbidity and mortality and to identify any adverse events associated with supplementation. SEARCH METHODS We searche